Tiger Woods may miss the Open after surgery
The 47-year-old had to pull out of the Masters this month midway through the third round
Golf superstar Tiger Woods’s participation in the rest of this year’s majors, including the Open Championship, is in doubt after he underwent ankle surgery.
The 47-year-old had to pull out of the Masters this month midway through the third round, which he attributed to plantar fasciitis, a condition affecting the sole of the foot.
However, Woods had an operation on Wednesday in New York, to address a problem caused by a previous fracture of his talus — a bone in the ankle joint.
He now looks highly likely to miss next month’s US PGA Championship, having made only his second start of the year at Augusta after his previous fitness issues, while his chances of making the US Open in June and July’s Open at Royal Liverpool are also in serious jeopardy.
NHS advice says that patients undergoing the subtalar fusion procedure that Woods has had can expect to be wearing a protective boot for up to 12 weeks and unable to put any weight on the operated leg for the first six weeks. The Open starts in 13 weeks.
A statement on Woods’ social media channels read: “Earlier today, Tiger underwent a subtalar fusion procedure to address his post-traumatic arthritis from his previous talus fracture.
“It was performed by Martin O’Malley at HSS Sports Medicine Institute in New York City. He has determined the surgery to be successful. Tiger is currently recovering and looks forward to beginning his rehabilitation.”
Woods feared that his leg would have to be amputated because of the serious injuries he suffered in a car accident in Los Angeles in February 2021.
He made a remarkable return to action 14 months later and finished 47th at the Masters, but withdrew from last year’s US PGA after a third-round 79 and did not contest the US Open before missing the cut in the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews.
Woods has accepted that he can only play a handful of times a year going forward and is targeting majors and events with which he has a personal connection.
